Swedish narcs stoned in Christiania

By
Steen Ulrik Johannessen/TT
on April 21, 2000

Translation of an article in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
(CC Note: Sweden is Europe’s most prohibitionist state, and Swedish narcs are known for their extreme, overzealous tactics. Denmark’s Christiania is known world-wide as a pot-tolerant, hash-trading community.)

COPENHAGEN. A group of Swedish policemen dressed as civilians had to flee the free state of Christiania last weekend.

They found out, the hard way, that representatives of the law – not even Swedish ones – are absolutely not welcome as guests in Christiania. The Swedish “tourists” were driven away by furious hash-dealers and Christianites.

The incident occurred during a conference held by Swedish narcotics officers in a hotel at Amager, near to Christiania. During the conference some 20-30 Swedish policemen decided to go on a secret mission to Christiania.

According to the local newspapers it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes before both the hash-dealers and other citizens of the free state noticed their prominent guests.

Suspicious behaviour

The swift exposure of the Swedes was due to their “suspicious behaviour” and their way of asking unusually inquisitive questions to people around Pusher Street ? the leading hash-market in Scandinavia. They were surrounded by hash-vendors and other Christianites who demanded to know whether they were policemen or not. Their suspicions were confirmed, and one of the officers even went so far as to show his ID “to calm people down.”

This caused quite a stir. The citizens of Christiania did not appreciate their distinguished visitors and in the following commotion some of the Swedes lost their badges.

Shortly afterwards, the crowd of Swedish narcs were driven away with stones and left-overs. At least one of the officers was literally thrown out of Christiania.

Not amused

The Danish police force, which was totally unaware of the conference, confirmed the incident. They were notified when their Swedish colleagues reported the case. Chief inspector Mogens Lauridsen of the Copenhagen Police characterises the conduct of his colleagues as “very, very dumb.”

Naturally, the Copenhagen Police Department cannot stop their Swedish colleagues from visiting Christiania in their private capacities. But, he points out, they have no jurisdiction whatsoever in Denmark.